National Mortgage Settlement

North Carolina played a lead role in the landmark national mortgage settlement with the country’s five largest mortgage loan servicers: Ally (formerly GMAC), Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

That settlement provided more than $441 million in assistance to North Carolina consumers and helped struggling homeowners by reducing principal debt balances, extinguishing deficiencies, and extinguishing second liens. In addition, approximately 2,100 borrowers in North Carolina were able to refinance mortgages at lower interest rates.

We negotiated related settlements with Ocwen and SunTrust, providing another $47 million in assistance to North Carolina homeowners.

The settlements include new rules for mortgages that prohibit many past foreclosure abuses, such as robo-signing and inadequate documentation, and prevents unnecessary and improper foreclosures. The settlement help all homeowners, not just those eligible for direct relief, by reducing foreclosures and stabilizing home values.

Direct payments to foreclosure victimsThe settlements required mortgage servicers to contact eligible borrowers directly. If you were eligible for direct payments, you should have received and returned a claim form.

At this time, all eligible consumers should have received their direct payments. Consumers with questions about their payment should call settlement administrator Rust Consulting at 1-866-430-8358.

Help for struggling homeownersIf you have a loan with one of the mortgage servicers listed above and are having difficulty making payments, contact your mortgage servicer directly at the following numbers: